If you’ve suffered an injury in an accident, you might be wondering whether you should hire a personal injury lawyer. If you have suffered serious bodily injuries it is critical to consult with a personal injury attorney. Because filing a personal injury lawsuit requires specialized skill and training, as well as a thorough knowledge of the legal system, you should never file a personal injury lawsuit without a lawyer.
There are certain types of accidents and injuries that almost always require an attorney. In these cases, hiring a personal injury lawyer will be worth the fees you must pay him or her to represent you. This is because in some situations, only a qualified personal injury lawyer can obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries and other losses.
4 Signs That You Should Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
You may need to hire a lawyer to represent you because you suffered serious injuries, or the legal rules implicated by your personal injury claim are highly complex. Sometimes, the insurance company refuses to settle in good faith. If you were involved in any of the following types of accidents or suffered very serious injuries, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area right away.
1. You Suffered Long-Term or Permanently Disabling Injuries
If you sustained serious injuries in an accident that will require long-term care or left you with permanent disabilities, you should hire a personal injury lawyer immediately. Only an experienced lawyer can calculate how much your injuries are worth. Moreover, figuring out how your injuries will impact your earning capacity over time can be difficult and generally requires expert assistance. To get the most out of your personal injury claim or lawsuit, you need a lawyer who can pursue all available forms of compensation for your injuries and other losses.
2. You Suffered Severe Injuries
The amount of compensation you ultimately receive for your injuries largely depends on how severe your injuries are. Insurance companies measure the severity of your injuries by the type of injuries you sustained, the amount of your medical bills you incurred, and the length of your recovery time. As the amount of your potential compensation increases, the more likely you are to reach the policy limits of the at-fault party’s insurance policy. If this is the case, the insurance company may only be able to pay you a fraction of what you deserve. In these types of cases, you should hire a personal injury lawyer to make sure you receive the total amount of compensation to which you are entitled.
3. There Are Multiple Parties Involved or Liability Is Not Clear
If you were involved in an accident where multiple parties may be liable for your injuries, you should contact a lawyer. When multiple parties are involved in an accident, insurance companies can be very complicated. Because several people may have been injured, there may not be as much settlement money to go around. You could also be the subject of insurance claims from the other parties, ultimately having your settlement offer decreased or reduced to nothing because of your proportional fault for the accident.
You should always contact an attorney if you have been injured in an accident and may be partially at-fault for the accident. An attorney can help protect you against counterclaims and cross-claims by the other parties who were involved in the accident.
4. The Insurance Company Refuses to Pay or Engages in Bad Faith Tactics
Sometimes, insurance companies simply refuse to make a fair settlement offer or refuse to make any settlement offer at all. If you are unable to secure a fair settlement offer from the at-fault party’s insurance company on your own, or negotiations with the insurance company have broken down, you should contact a personal injury lawyer right away.
There is also a chance that the insurance company is engaged in bad faith insurance tactics. In that case, you will need assistance from a lawyer who has experience litigating bad faith insurance claims.
How to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you were involved in any of the scenarios discussed above, you should contact a reputable attorney right away. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is a very important decision. Your lawyer will represent your interests in settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company, and will do so in court should you and your attorney decide that filing a personal injury lawsuit is necessary. You should make sure that your attorney is someone you trust and feel comfortable working with.
